a termination · noun, common feminine plural construct
ways
דְּרָכָ֗יוdar.kov
H1870
a road (as trodden) · noun, common both genders plural construct + pronominal suffix, 3rd person masculine singular
little
שֵּׁ֣מֶץShe.metz
H8102
an inkling · noun, common masculine singular construct
portion
דָּ֭בָרDa.vor
H1697
a word · noun, common masculine singular absolute
heard
נִשְׁמַעnish.ma'-
H8085
to hear intelligently (often with implication of attent… · verb, qal imperfect, 1st person common plural
thunder
וְרַ֥עַםve.Ra.'am
H7482
a peal of thunder · conjunction + noun, common masculine singular construct
power
גְּ֝בוּרוֹתָ֗יוge.vu.ra.tov
H1369
force (literally or figuratively) · noun, common feminine plural construct + pronominal suffix, 3rd person masculine singular
understand
יִתְבּוֹנָֽןyit.bo.Nan
H995
to separate mentally (or distinguish) · verb, hithpael imperfect, 3rd person masculine singular
Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).
Cross-references
Isaiah 40:26-29 Lift up your eyes on high, and behold who hath created these things, that bringeth out their host by number: he calleth them all by names by…
Job 11:7-9 Canst thou by searching find out God? canst thou find out the Almighty unto perfection?
Psalms 139:6 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is high, I cannot attain unto it.
Psalms 145:3 Great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised; and his greatness is unsearchable.
Romans 11:33 O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! how unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past finding out!
1 Samuel 2:10 The adversaries of the LORD shall be broken to pieces; out of heaven shall he thunder upon them: the LORD shall judge the ends of the earth;…
Job 4:12 Now a thing was secretly brought to me, and mine ear received a little thereof.
Job 36:29 Also can any understand the spreadings of the clouds, or the noise of his tabernacle?
Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).
Commentary
Matthew Henry on Job 26:5–end
The truth received a great deal of light from the dispute between Job and his friends concerning those points about which they differed; but now they are upon a subject in which they were all agreed, the infinite glory and power of God. How does truth triumph, and how brightly does it shine, when there appears no other strife between the contenders than which shall speak most highly and honourably of God and be most copious in showing forth his praise! It were well if all disputes about matters of religion might end thus, in glorifying God as Lord of all, and our Lord, with one mind and one mouth (Rom 15:6); for to that we have all attained, in that we are all agreed.
I. Many illustrious ins…
parts--Rather, "only the extreme boundaries of," &c., and how faint is the whisper that we hear of Him!
thunder--the entire fulness. In antithesis to "whisper" (Co1 13:9-10, Co1 13:12).
It was now Zophar's turn to speak. But as he and the other two were silent, virtually admitting defeat, after a pause Job proceeds.
Next: Job Chapter 27
John Gill on Job 26:14
Lo, these are parts of his ways,.... This is the conclusion of the discourse concerning the wonderful works of God; and Job was so far from thinking that he had taken notice of all, or even of the chief and principal, that what he observed were only the extremities, the edges, the borders, and outlines of the ways and works of God in creation and providence; wherefore, if these were so great and marvellous, what must the rest be which were out of the reach of men to point out and describe?
but how little a portion is heard of him? from the creatures, from the works of creation, whether in heaven, earth, or sea; for though they do declare in some measure his glory, and though their voice is…
14 Behold, these are the edges of His ways,
And how do we hear only a whisper thereof!
But the thunder of His might - who comprehendeth it?
These (אלּה retrospective, as in Job 18:21) are only קצות, the extremest end-points or outlines of the ways of God, which Job has depicted; the wondrous fulness of His might, which extends through the whole creation, transcends human comprehension; it is only שׁמץ דּבר therefrom that becomes audible to us men. שׁמץ (שׁמץ) is translated by Symm. here ψιθύρισμα, Job 4:12, ψιτηυρισμός; the Arab. šamiṣa (to speak very quickly, mutter) confirms this idea of the word; Jerome's translation, vix. parvam stillam sermonis ejus (comp. Job 4:12, venas, tropical…
The Church Fathers
"All this is only part of the road," which leads to God. "And who will know the power of his thunder, when he will make him growl? His thunder is the voice that will sound in the day of the manifestations, or again this word that he has revealed to us by the son of thunder "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was in God and the Word was God" (2 ); so that the order of the sentence would be this: "When he hears thunder, will anyone be able to know its power? "
Lo, these things have been spoken for part of His ways; and whilst we scarcely hear a little drop of His words, who shall be able to look on the thunder of His Majesty? What is meant in this place by the designation of the 'ways,' but the Lord's modes of acting? Hence too the Lord saith by the Prophet; For My ways are not as your ways. Accordingly in telling of the Advent of the Lord, he had described the ways of God in part; because His method of acting by which He created us was one thing, and that by which He redeemed us another. Thus those things, which he told touching the Lord's way of acting, making light of by comparison with the final Judgment, he says, Lo, these things are spoken for part of His ways. Which he also calls 'a little drop of His words,' for whatsoever thing that is high, whatsoever thing that is terrible, we whilst set in this life are brought to know by the contemplation of Him, from the vast ocean of the secrets of Heaven wells out to us like a slight drop of the liquid element Above. And who shall be able to look on the thunder of His Majesty? As though he expressed himself in plain words; 'If we scarce endure the wonders of His humility, the loud and dreadful Advent of His Majesty with what nerve do we encounter?' This thundering of His Advent the Psalmist also sounds out, saying, Our God shall come in state, our God, and shall not keep silence, a fire shall devour before Him, and a mighty tempest round about Him. Hence Zephaniah the Prophet tells it out, saying, The Great Day of the Lord is near; it is near and hasteth greatly. The voice of the Day of the Lord is bitter: the mighty man shall be troubled there. That Day is a day of wrath, a day of trouble and distress, a day of wasteness and desolation, a day of darkness and gloominess, a day of cloud and whirlwind, a day of the trumpet, and of a dreadful sound. The terror then of the Strict Inquest, which Zephaniah calls 'the Trumpet,' blessed Job designates 'thundering.' Which Joel also viewing saith, Let all the inhabitants of the land be troubled; for the Day of the Lord cometh; for it is nigh at hand, a day of darkness and of gloominess, a day of cloud and whirlwind. For the Day of the Lord is great, and very terrible, and who shall sustain it? But how incomprehensible and unimaginable that Greatness wherewith He shall come in His Second Manifesting, in some degree we…
Dictionary and topics
Power Of God, The · Expressed by the: Thunder of his power — Expressed by the: Thunder of his power
Science · Observations of, and — Observations of, and
Thunder · A manifestation of divine power — A manifestation of divine power
Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).
His Spirit (or wind): God’s authority clears the skies after a storm (26:12). • The gliding serpent corresponds to Yam and Rahab (see study note on 7:12); it provides background for the image of Satan as a dragon (Isa 27:1; also Ps 74:13-14; see Gen 3:15; Rom 16:20; Rev 12:9; 20:2).
Rashi on Job 26:14
the outskirts of His ways The easiest and the smallest in comparison to His other qualities.
and what implications of any matter can be understood What hint of anything can a man understand from His deeds? Another explanation: שֶמֶץ is like (Exod. 32:25), “to the scandal (לשמצה),” uncomplimentary.
